Jaguar working on electric F-Pace SUV – report

Unnamed sources within the British automotive industry have told Autocar that Jaguar Land Rover is currently working on an electric vehicle with a range of around 480 kilometres.

It's believed that the electric drivetrain will initially be used on a variant of the F-Pace, Jaguar's first ever SUV. The F-Pace is expected to debut early next year and should look very similar to the C-X17 concept car pictured above and below.

Powered by a selection of diesel and petrol engines, the F-Pace will be based on the company's new iQ[Al] aluminium platform, which is shared with the entry-level Jaguar XE and next-generation XF ranges.

It's possible that the company will choose to defray the cost of developing the EV drivetrain by reusing it in other vehicles that utilise the iQ[Al] platform, which could one day include models wearing Land Rover or Range Rover badges.

According to the British publication, Jaguar Land Rover's decision to begin EV development has been driven in part by Californian regulations that require automakers to have zero emissions vehicles account for 4.5 percent of all sales by 2018 and 22 percent by 2025. Similar regulations have been adopted by a number of other US states.

If the Jaguar electric SUV, or any of its related spin-offs, come to pass, its natural competitor will be the Tesla Model X, which is now scheduled to debut in the third quarter of 2015.